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Blog Archives: December 2018

By this point, the gifts have been opened. That turkey or ham has been carved and the leftovers are packed up in the fridge. The Christmas decorations are still up and Christmas music is playing, but only for a few more days. Soon January 1 will come and, while we might not rush to take the tree down, we all know it’s only a matter of time. Christmas is behind us; the New Year is before us.
Dear Christian, don’t move on too quickly! We don’t pack up the incarnation with the decorations. Through Christmas is for but a season, its message is ...

“In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” Luke 1:26–28 (ESV)
For many of us who have grown up in the church, the phrase “the virgin birth of Christ” is familiar to our ears. You’ve probably heard scores of sermons on the birth of Christ. And you’ve seen pictures and displays of the nativity scene: Mary, ...

Word of the week: Community
Last night I was at one of the ever-present Christmas parties this time of year. This one was a different, as there were only six of us plus some young people. At one point several of the people found themselves on the couch. They hadn’t connected in a while, and soon they were deep in conversation. They were so deep in conversation that I couldn’t peel one of them away to leave. They weren’t talking about their favorite Christmas tradition, the latest in decorations, or the recipe for a great Christmas meal side ...

Why did Jesus have to be born?
The short answer is that Jesus had to die, and then be raised from the dead. Of course, the answer is more nuanced and complicated than that, but I don’t think my first statement is too far from the truth. Let me give you a few things to think about in answer to the question. To hear a sermon about the remarkable conception of Jesus of Nazareth, and why that is important, please click the link to this past Sunday’s sermon.
Jesus was born to die as a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice. God promised that ...

Word of the Week: Community
Whew! We got worship in on Sunday just under the wire before the snowfall really started coming. Here is an odd thing you might not think about: It’s a hard decision to cancel church. If we had cancelled Sunday, I would have been kicking himself if I’d been at home at 9:30 and there was no snow coming down. I give a big shout out to deacon of the day, Paul Parmiter, for helping to make the decision and staying at the church until everyone left.
We were able to worship together and have the Lord’s supper. It was ...

If you crack open your Bible, you’ll notice a myriad of holidays and festivals. This is especially true if you turn to the Old Testament. But if you keep going, you’ll notice less and less of them as you approach of the New Testament. Even most of these are references to Jewish holidays that were still being celebrated, such as Pentecost rather than descriptions of holidays that Christians would go on to celebrate. One thing’s for sure – you won’t find any mention of our Christmas celebrations.
So why do we celebrate Christmas?
1. We ...

My New Calling
At the end of our trip to Malawi, Africa in July 2018, Duncan Nyozani, the Malawi Team leader, asked me a pointed question: “So Don, are you God’s man for Malawi?” At the time I told him I didn’t know the answer to that, but I expressed my desire to ensure that capable pastors return annually to train leaders in Malawi.
My sense was that in a few years I would leave Grace to work full time with Equipping Leaders International. However, several moments this fall changed my time frame. The ELI director let me know they’d ...